Reveille
by Sturmgeschuts
Summary: Spring has come at last, but ill-omens creep into the dreams of its herald. Something comes, and it bears a dry wind of black and grey. Challenge entry, details inside.


Mt entry to the Mostly Lucky Star Forum Fanfiction Challenge number twenty-four. The theme is "Fairy Tales". As per a more literal interpretation of the theme, this is a tale about a fairy.

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It was the light creeping over her eyes and the warm breeze stirring the leaves that woke her up. Her vision growing clear as she slowly opened her eyes, she found herself resting upon the same branch she'd fallen asleep on. The Cherry blossoms all around reminded her that it was spring, the season that she had been announcing for quite some time. The small puddle of sunshine that had coaxed her into a quick nap had shrunk as the blossoms around her opened, thickening the canopy and blocking the light. With a yawn and a stretch, Lily White rose from her comfy space and floated out of the branches. An endless landscape of pink blossoms greeted her, a sign of her progress for this early spring.

Lily considered her next destination; she had yet to visit parts of the forest of magic, where the rather feisty flowers bloomed. On the other hand, she could move along the shores of the misty lake to thaw out the flower buds still frozen from winter or the local fairies. With such a difficult decision before her, it was nearly a minute before she realised that a shadow had enveloped her. Before her was a shape of a man with no head and two great wings spread wide, towering over her. Lily turned about to confront the shadow's source, only to look directly into the sun. After rubbing her eyes, the herald of spring found herself alone, no sign of the shadow or whatever had made it.

Thinking it was just her sleepy mind playing tricks on her; the fairy shook her head and took off toward the lake to defrost the poor flowers there.

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After several altercations with a pesky local fairy, Lily finally finished announcing spring to the Misty Lake, delighting as she would coax the flower buds out of their cold-induced coma. The warm winds that seemed to follow her clashed with the cool air over the lake, creating a thick blanket of fog over the area. The damp fog and ambient sounds of the lake were so relaxing, that the herald of spring felt that another nap was in order. Setting down in a dry space among some reeds, she curled up and drifted off, heedless of any danger that might appear.

Lily usually dreamed of nice things. Frilly dresses and fragrant soaps, soothing music and soft fabric, good cheer and delicious food; these were what she would dream of. Finding herself in a dark space, no sky above or earth below, just cold stone and a curious contraption. Hanging from a black vine, it swung gently from side to side, a curious glass bottle of sorts, sealed with a metal cap that seemed to engulf the vine. Along its length hung a simple chain, ending in a small tag that said 'pull'. Being a fairy, Lily was naturally curious, even her title and important task could not pry her from something new or interesting. It was that very curiosity that compelled her to pull the chain, creating a small fire in the bottle, which flashed into a bright light. Lily rubbed her eyes to recover from the sudden blinding flash, stepping back from the odd contraption. When she finally opened her eyes, she was left without words for what she saw beyond the glowing bottle.

A great black beast, with glowing red eyes floating where its absent head would rest, great wings spanning the width of the stone room; Its arms rising, outstretching towards the fairy with wicked talons in place of its fingers. Grasping the shoulders of the fairy now paralyzed with fear before it, it leaned close, the red eyes locking with Lily's.

The calm lakeshore was disturbed by a terrified shriek, the animals in the immediate area fleeing into the water or further up the shore. Lily sat rigid, her arms holding her up as she heaved again and again, trying to catch her breath and slow her heart.

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Lost in a daze would be an apt description for the sight before her. The fairy idly stopping in front of some very dangerous plants, giving it a wake-up call, and wandering off. No cheerful declarations of spring, no joyful humming; only a blank stare as Lily White went about her work. To the puppeteer watching from her front porch, this was both unacceptable and rather unnerving. She enjoyed the cheerful songs and constant declarations; and she would always treat the fairy to some sweets and tea, yet today she did not approach. Alice waited until Lily came to bring spring to her garden before approaching.

Lily stopped when a blue dress blocked her view, taller than her, but not imposing. She lifted her head, gazing into green eyes filled with concern, overriding the horrid red gaze that had been etched into her mind. Still staring up at the puppeteer before her, Lily White began to cry.

Without a word, Alice knelt down to the fairy and wrapped her in a tight embrace. Alice wondered what the cause of Lily's distress might be as the fairy wept into her shoulder. She ran her fingers through the small girl's hair, trying to comfort her.

The pair would remain like that until the smaller one sobbed herself to sleep, wrapped in the arms and scent of the kind doll-maker.

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She placed her teacup down upon its dish and smiled, happy to be treated to tea. The tea warmed her, so much so that she actually began to sweat. Lily raised her hand to ask for something cool to accompany the tea, but found herself at a loss for words as the peaceful atmosphere was disrupted. Right in front of her, Alice was melting; much like a wax doll would do when exposed to an open fire. The dolls all around were starting to smoke, and even the tablecloth had taken on a brown lining around the edges. The fairy rose from her feet, the edges of her wings starting to feel uncomfortably hot, as if they were being held close to an open flame.

All within the room reached the flash point, every doll, piece of furniture, and the melting Alice went up in flames. The patterned wallpaper peeled away in an instant, revealing timber long ruined by insects and spewing flames from the tiny holes. As each doll burned, the cloth peeled away to show tiny charred skeletons, the few faces remaining twisted in agony. The melting puppeteer raised a dripping hand toward her guest, her near-unrecognizable face trying to speak while her teeth and eyes each fell out of place. From the black maw that had once spoken pleasantries and compliments, thick black smoke billowed out, filling the top half of the room. In that smoke a form was taking shape, ash condensing into twisted talons and black wings. Two idle sparks hovered above the figure, burning bright red and seemingly enraged.

Once again, Lily found herself paralyzed with fear, her legs buckling and her eyes closing tight as the long blackened claws reached out to her.

She opened her eyes and was alone; a blackened pile of rubble lay before her and everything, including herself, was covered in a layer of grey ash still falling from the sky. Gone was her spring, the forest where the many feisty plants dwelled, and the magician with whom she had many good memories. A tiny hand rose from the ash, the upper half of a charred doll that had almost escaped the flames. It gripped the hem of her dress, its one eye pleading with her, as if begging for her to save it. Lily wanted to undo the flames, to undo her loss, she didn't want to lose everything in billowing smoke and scorching fire.

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Lily sat upright in an instant, her hands gripping the sheets under which she had been left. Beside her the puppeteer was alive and well, keeling beside the bed and her head on her arms where she had fallen asleep watching over her guest. The fairy pulled the blanket off of her, finding herself in a small nightgown meant for small children. She fluttered her wings, and draped the blanket over Alice before moving to the window and slipping out into the night.

She had a horrible feeling, like something was wrong nearby. Her suspicions were confirmed when she came across a dead grove of trees, long ruined by vicious pine beetles and dried in the sun. The ground here was hot, and the dry bark of the trees had begun to crack and smoke. There were no animals in the area, and the night air was eerily quiet, something awful was about to happen. Without delay, Lily sped back toward the cottage where she had awoken, and intended to visit many places before the night was through.

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The klaxons wailed and the work crews tried to contain the spreading damage from the malfunctioning reactor. Fire spewed from cracks in the walls, rocks fell from the great ceiling above, and steam filled the air. At the center of it all a great Hell Raven tried to control the spreading flames, a moment of carelessness had ruptured something important, and everything within the Hell of Blazing Fires had spiralled out of control. Utsuho Reiuji Focused on her control rod, trying to reroute the intense heat and energy back into the flaming pits, but something was interfering with her control. An undead fairy sped by with a bucket of water, heading towards the flaming cracks, and that's when she noticed the problem. The steam pressurizing at the base of the fires was preventing them from going down into the reactor where they could be contained. Before she could try to stop them, the sound of the flames ceased, and all the steam and hot air was sucked into one of the open crevasses lining the walls.

Utsuho didn't know what to make of this, but she had the slightest feeling that she was going to be in a lot of trouble really soon.

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She had roused Alice and gone to the village, where she had spent some time trying to explain the problem between breaths to the village elders. Lily now raced from location to location, no longer announcing spring, but bearing warning of disaster. She did only what she knew best, flying and calling out her news, moving with speed that she never knew herself capable of. Those delighted to see her quickly became worried, many preparing to fend off the impending disaster.

When she'd told as many people as she could, she returned to the forest to try and help. She did not know much help she could be, but she didn't want her dream to come true.

Arriving at the grove, she found more smoke billowing from the trees, the edges of the cracked wood starting to smolder. Lily attempted to snuff out the heat with a summer shower, her limited power only creating steam that mixed with the smoke. She could hear the approach of many people seeking to stop the fire, and put all she had into her little rainfall, hoping to buy them some time.

In the span of a few second, her plans to delay the impending blaze were burnt away as the ground below her erupted upward, a tree branch rocketing up and hitting her in the stomach. First came a cloud of condensed smoke and ash, washing over the area like a great flood. Then came the fire, a column of flame so high that it could be seen from all corners of Gensokyo, so bright that it nearly ended the night for those around it. With the heat came the blaze, igniting first the dead trees, then the living ones, starting a wildfire the likes of which the land had never seen.

The approaching villagers and Youkai reeled from the explosion, staring in horror at the great pillar of hellfire. It would be a long night, there would be no rest, and before the sun would rise, a great deal of the forest of magic would be little more than burnt trees and ash.

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Lily once again found herself awakening in Alice's room, but now in the morning and surrounded by people talking amongst themselves. She couldn't bring herself to sit up, her body sore all over, as if she'd been beaten up multiple times. She tried to speak, but only managed a cough, her throat dry and her mouth tasting of charcoal. The people around her ceased their conversation, and immediately she found herself being attended to. Others would come in periodically; thanking her for the warning, saying that she'd saved the village and perhaps all of Gensokyo. One by one they came, over and over, and endless parade of praise and joy.

Finally, after all the people had come and gone, Alice stepped forth and lifted Lily from the bed, gentle as a caring mother. She carried her to the door, and stepped out to show her the forest.

More than half the forest was now charcoal and cinders, a layer of ash coating it all. The fire had seemingly stopped before reaching the cottage, tools and buckets still littered the ground at the edge. Villagers picked through the ruined forest, snuffing out any small fires that still remained, and searching for animals or plants that had somehow survived the blaze.

The sight brought Lily to tears, she had been unable to stop the fire, and now most of the fire was gone. As she sobbed into the puppeteer's shoulder once again, she felt someone tugging at the new nightdress she wore. She ignored it until it became rather insistent; looking down she saw a small child holding some seeds out to her. Most of them were no longer valid, but there was one... .

With the child leading the way, the Herald of Spring was led to the edge of the forest, where a small patch had been cleared of ash. The seed was planted, and Lily used a little of her remaining power upon it. A tiny sapling sprouted from the ground, no taller than one of Alice's dolls, but enough to make the fairy smile. Lily White gazed over the ashen landscape, her eyes still red from the tears, but now fixed in determination. She would stay after spring ended this year, and would work until the next to bring the forest back to life, to undo the disaster's damage.

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With a small crowd around her, the Herald of Spring rose into the air, overlooking the expanse of young trees grown in a year's time with the aid of magic and willpower. Pink cherry blossoms and green pine needles filled her vision, the only blemish upon the land being a pool of water lined with stone, always warm but never boiling. She took a deep breath, and prepared to make the announcement that all below awaited, but gasped and covered her mouth at a sight among the crowd.

With the body of a man and wings of a bird, tall in statures and with red eyes, she could see someone who greatly resembled the beast that had haunted her dreams a year prior. But this person was different, their body was clear, with the visage of a person, clothed and with a head. A third, great eye was set in her chest, and she was not nearly as terrifying as the beast from the dreams. She blinked in confusion at Lily's gaze, her eyes kind, yet somewhat dull.

The fairy sighed, realizing that there was no threat, the black bird in the smoke from her dreams was long gone, this was someone else likely unrelated to the disaster. Shaking her head, she spread out her arms and once again took a deep breath. At the top of her lungs, in the happiest voice Gensokyo had ever heard, she made the announcement that no one awaited more than herself.

"It's Spring!"

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I hope you enjoyed this little tale of a fairy, and her encounters with an urban legend that I'm certain some of you will know.

A little sweet, a little sour, and written in far less time than it should have.

Have a nice day.


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